Intersectionality and feminist service provision: Power and difference in gender-based violence services
Intersectionality has been described as both a critical inquiry and a critical praxis rooted in Black feminism and the activism of marginalised groups to dismantle interlocking systems of oppression. Yet the question of how to develop and maintain a critical intersectional praxis has remained open and often secondary to theoretical debates. This study explores the application of intersectional analytical and political insights across multiple levels of feminist anti-violence and anti-trafficking work, namely (1) the definition and analysis of violence, (2) the design of services, (3) the caring relationship between staff and service users, and (4) organisational structures and dynamics. I draw on two case studies of feminist organisations supporting “domestic”, asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant women in Serbia and Italy, countries at the borders of Fortress Europe and characterised by rising anti-gender and anti-migration politics. Using multiple qualitative methods adapted to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, I centre frontline practitioners as essential contributors to intersectional theorising within the frame of a multivocal and dialogical feminist intersectional epistemology. The thesis presents a range of mutually supportive ways in which intersectionality can be integrated in feminist service provision. Intersectional praxis expands understandings of violence and of the services needed by survivors. It reveals hidden power dynamics and forms of oppression and provides new lenses through which to pursue political mobilisation and solidarity across difference. This study considers the limitations of an intersectional approach within the specific context of feminist service provision, characterised by constant tensions between feminist principles, commitments to service delivery, and political objectives in an increasingly hostile world. At the same time, it demonstrates the transformative potential that intersectional praxis can have when feminist organisations commit to an expansive interpretation of feminism, which creates space for all women and all their experiences. As such, it contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between intersectional theory and praxis, and it argues for a closer dialogue between practitioners, academics, and those affected by intersectional violence.
Intersectionality, Feminist organisations, Intersectional Praxis, Gender-Based Violence, Feminist Service Provision, Femonationalism, Intersectional Prefiguration
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